This is a Real Estate owned (REO) property. The lender possesses the property either at an auction or through an agreement with the owner during pre-foreclosure. The property is maintained by the bank or by representative agents acting as safe-keepers / sellers on their behalf. This property can fetch you the best deal when compared to the AS IS condition of any foreclosure property. While the costs might be a bit higher than foreclosures, REO properties still would fetch you good savings on a house purchase deal.